Systems and Methods for Latency-Aware Social Networking

1. A method for latency-aware social networking, comprising: receiving, by a host computing device, a request from a first client device to connect to a social network service associated with a media stream, the request comprising a presentation timestamp of the media stream; determining, by the host computing device, a latency associated with the first client device; identifying, by the host computing device, a first client group of a plurality of client groups, each client group of the plurality of client groups associated with a latency window, wherein identifying the first client group comprises: identifying a second client group, wherein the latency associated with the first client device is within the latency window associated with the second client group, determining that a number of client devices currently associated with the second client group is equal to or above a threshold, and responsive to the determination that the number of client devices currently associated with the second client group is equal to or above the threshold, (1) narrowing the latency window associated with the second client group to exclude the latency associated with the first client device, and (2) generating the first client group; adding, by the host computing device, the first client device to the first client group; and establishing, by the host computing device, a connection between the first client device and a social network sub-service corresponding to the first client group.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the latency associated with the first client device further comprises determining a difference between the presentation timestamp of the media stream and a present time.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the latency associated with the first client device further comprises measuring a round trip time (RTT) between the host computing device and the first client device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the latency associated with the first client device further comprises adding the difference between the presentation timestamp of the media stream and the present time, and the measured RTT between the host computing device and the first client device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the first client group further comprises identifying the first client group, responsive to the latency associated with the first client device being within the latency window associated with the first client group.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the first client group further comprises determining that a number of client devices currently associated with the first client group is below a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving at least one client device currently associated with the second client group to the first client group.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the connection between the first client device and the social network sub-service corresponding to the first client group further comprises broadcasting chat messages of client devices of the first client group to each other client device of the first client group.

9. A system for latency-aware social networking, comprising: a host computing device comprising a processor and a network interface in communication with a first client device; wherein the processor is configured for: receiving a request from a first client device to connect to a social network service associated with a media stream, the request comprising a presentation timestamp of the media stream; determining a latency associated with the first client device; identifying a first client group of a plurality of client groups, each client group of the plurality of client groups associated with a latency window; wherein identifying the first client group comprises: identifying a second client group, wherein the latency associated with the first client device is within the latency window associated with the second client group, determining that a number of client devices currently associated with the second client group is equal to or above a threshold, and responsive to the determination that the number of client devices currently associated with the second client group is equal to or above the threshold, (1) narrowing the latency window associated with the second client group to exclude the latency associated with the first client device, and (2) generating the first client group; adding the first client device to the first client group; and establishing a connection between the first client device and a social network sub-service corresponding to the first client group.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for determining a difference between the presentation timestamp of the media stream and a present time.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured for measuring a round trip time (RTT) between the host computing device and the first client device.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured for adding the difference between the presentation timestamp of the media stream and the present time, and the measured RTT between the host computing device and the first client device.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for identifying the first client group, responsive to the latency associated with the first client device being within the latency window associated with the first client group.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for determining that a number of client devices currently associated with the first client group is below a threshold.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for moving at least one client device currently associated with the second client group to the first client group.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for broadcasting chat messages of client devices of the first client group to each other client device of the first client group.